When looking at family systems, you must begin by looking at Murray Bowen’s family systems theory and “his views on the eight interlocking forces that shape family function,” (Haefner, 2014). Within Bowen’s family psychotherapy research, he noted that “family patterns and problems often repeat over generations, he also noted that families make up their own emotional systems, and within these systems they try to maintain stability and reduce conflict,” (Haefner, 2014). The eight interlocking forces noted by Bowen through (Haefner, 2014) 1. Differentiation of self, which notes that the family is the primary impact of a person’s personal development. 2. Triangle which is primarily made up of father-mother and child and these are in continual …show more content…
Sibling position which was developed by William Toman, in which Bowen looks at whether a child is the oldest (Leadership) youngest (follower) and how sibling position is linked into family dynamics and parental relationships. 8. Societal regression- how a family’s emotional stress can be influenced by the stresses of their outside environment. The foundations for a child’s development begins not only in the child’s first year, but also while they are in utero. A child’s development can also be influenced by how much the parents are contributing to the development of the child. A couple that interacts well with one another as well as with the child can have “positive impacts on a child’s cognitive, language and motor development, this can also positively benefit the couple relationship, and the parent-infant relationship,” (Parfitt, Pike, & Ayers, 2013). A parent’s especially a mother’s mental health can greatly impact a child’s development if a mother is less stressed the will be more comfortable around the child creating a better mother-child attachment which also promotes language development. (Parfitt, Pike, & Ayers, 2013). If a father’s is positively involved in a child’s life early on that the child will have a greater reduction in cognitive delays, this is especially true in boys (Parfitt, Pike, & Ayers, 2013). Another positive key in a child’s development comes from the sibling relationships. Siblings help a child learn social, emotional, cognitive and behavioral …show more content…
Neglect affects a child’s “cognitive, and language development in addition it can lead to academic delays, problems with their peers, it can lead to mental health problems and aggression or other behavioral problems,” (futureiofchildren.org). A child in an unhealthy family system may experience a lack in nutrient, a lack of supervision which can lead to emotional, behavioral, and social delays. This is also known as “failure to thrive,” (futureofchildren.org). When a family system fails, children have trouble attaching to the caregiver this can cause emotional distress, insecurities and trust issues. (futureofchildren.org) Poor family systems, and children’s inability to development in all areas of growth is linked by poor
Child neglect and abuse is an unfortunate reality for many children today. It can have significant developmental impacts on children until they are an adult. Unfortunately it is not noticed until the damage is already done. Parents are the ones that are supposed to take care of their child. The consequences of a child getting mistreated young may endure long after the neglect occurs. People having children and not ready to be parents. Scaring the child for life because they decided that is was fun to beat on their child and abuse them mentally, and some even sexually. The effects can appear in all aspects of life, rather it is psychological or behavioral. There are three main effects of neglect and abuse that can range from minor physical injuries, not getting along with others, or can become aggressive and affect them later on in life.
In understanding others, one must first understand our own family background and how it affects our understanding of the world. Conversely, family systems draw on the view of the family as an emotional unit. Under system thinking, one evaluates the parts of the systems in relation to the whole meaning behavior becomes informed by and inseparable from the functioning of one’s family of origin. These ideas show that individuals have a hard time separating from the family and the network of relationships. With a deeper comprehension of the family of origin helps with the challenges and awareness of normalized human behaviors. When interviewing and analyzing the family of origin, allow one to look at their own family of origin
According to Murray Bowen’s family systems theory, the family subsists in a system where as the individuals are inseparable from their network of relationships, but continue to strive to be individualized. Consequently, various forms of these networks are grounded in the domestic structure and the “normal” or “ideal” family and development derives from the interaction of the family members when they remain differentiated, unease is minimal, and partners have beneficial emotional communication with their own family members (Nichols, 2014). The concept of achieving individuality while remaining in a cohesive family unit may cause stress. Concepts such as differentiation of self, triangulation, emotional cutoff, and anxious attachment may aid in the elucidation of the family system. This theoretical concept along with these coinciding terms will be explored through one episode of the television series The Goldbergs called Rush.
Parents and their parenting style play an important role in the development of their child. In fact, many child experts suggest that parenting style can affect a child’s social, cognitive, and psychological development which influence not just their childhood years, but it will also extend throughout their adult life. This is because a child’s development takes place through a number of stimuli, interaction, and exchanges that surround him or her. And since parents are generally a fixed presence in a child’s life, they will likely have a significant part on the child’s positive or negative development (Gur 25).
Healthy functioning in the family is a goal that many families strive for, but not all are able to achieve with ease. The family functioning, all of the interactions and emotional current in the home have a significant impact on the individuals involved. Childhood development is one area that is particularly affected. Whether good or bad, the family system and environment influences the cognitive, emotional, and physical development of the children and can establish positive or negative cognitive and behavioral traits that remain for a life-time.
People are always in transition with their environment, and each subsystem has an impact on the whole system. This is also why I am using the Family Systems approach, as I am also able to see how the family system has affected Precious, and how the family has functioned across the lifespan. It is important because we can discuss boundaries, individual’s roles, communication in the family, the family structure and how this influences the families functioning not only with Precious’s Mother and Father, but with her own children as well. With systems theory and the Family Systems approach, the basis is that a Systems component can only be understood as part of the Whole, therefore when working with an individual such as Precious, all aspects of their personality and environment must be considered and worked with as a whole. (Payne,
An adage goes by “show me your friends and I will tell you who you are” but in family system theory, it more like show me/tell me about a family member, and I will tell and interpret the family as a whole. Family system theory work hand in hand with the definition of family because, based on how the family defines itself, you can tell more about the family in terms of their communication and coexistence in general.
Bowenian theory is an intergenerational family systems therapy that views individuals and their accompanying behaviors as belonging to and being a product of one’s family of origin: Both immediate and extended. Titelman posits that a family member’s behavior influences the functionality of the family unit across generations (Titelman, 1998, pp. 9-10). Moreover, Bowen theory seeks to locate specific behavioral patterns within the multigenerational family as a means of identifying and assisting family members understand how their present problems may be rooted in the past. For example, the anxiety a person experiences today and how it is dealt with may be attributed to the coping methods from previous generations.
Becvar, D. S., & Becvar, R. J. (1999). Systems theory and family systems (2 ed.). Lanham, NY: University Press of America.
Behavioral concerns are tied to the functioning of the entire family a shift in one part is likely to have an impact on other parts with the reverse true as well. A prominent concept of Bowen’s eight is triangulation. “Bowen described triangles as the smallest stable relationship unit” (Brown, J. 2014). The process of triangulation is central to his theory.
When considering the development of emotional maturity or the concept of differentiation of self from a psychological perspective, the pioneer systems family theorist Dr. Murray Bowen remains of the most referenced sources. Bowen, starting in early 1974, was one of the first to advance the concept of differentiation of self, as one where ‘The emotional maturity of the individual to interact with others, his or her level of cognition, individuality, self, ego, independence and ability to detach from the emotional problems of others” can be measured, generally on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the most desirable result. Bowen considered the struggle of differentiation to be a lifelong pursuit, and would later extend its application from
Each family unit exhibits concepts and themes found within Bowen’s Family System Theory. In my family unit, I see the following concepts and themes from a family system theory perspective exhibited through my genogram; boundaries, levels of differentiation, family projection process, and emotional cutoff. Each of these will be expanded on further below:
In the Olson family, John the main provider of the home lost his job and he was not being able to accommodate to his new role of being unemployed. Based on the lecture (2015), one of the assumptions on Family Development Theory is that individuals in families will experience changes over time. In John’s situation, losing his job, and losing his daughter changed his development. According to Smith and Hamon (2012), Family Development Theory has shown that transitions in life provide the opportunity to confront change. They explained that transitions cause role changes in the life of individuals (Smith and Hamon 2012). In John’s situation, he experienced a transition from being the well-educated husband with a great job, to become a stay home husband who is unemployed. In an ideal world, John’s life transition should have been that he became the manager of the company where he was working. However, when the transition of his life took the wrong shift, John’s situation became complicated because he was not ready for such a drastic transition. He was not mentally ready to take the roll of his wife. Smith and Hamon (2012) point out that people have choices on how they respond to transitions; they can respond to transitions as a way to find new horizons or they can take a negative approach. John found his transition as a difficult time of his life; he was not able to accommodate to his new
Families make us who we are. From our families we learn communication skills, emotions and how to form relationships. Murray Bowen developed the Bowen family systems theory. The Bowen family systems theory provides the opportunity to learn about complex family relationships and emotional relationships. The Bowen family systems theory can be integrated with religion and spirituality. Everyone can relate the Bowen family systems theory. I can integrate my personal experiences with concepts from the Bowen family systems theory.
However, good reasons exist for pushing the developmental perspective to encompass such families. For example, they are systems with the same system properties as two parent families, and they mush accomplish most of the same developmental tasks as two parent families. In fact the principal difference between single parent and two parent families is that the former lack the personnel resources to fill the normatively expected positions in the family. This lack of personnel resources places a heavy burden on the remaining family members, who much compensate with increased effort to accomplish family tasks such as physical maintenance and social